They took families who could barely afford to heat their trailers and cast them into gigantic mansions they could afford even less, all on film, of course, and punctuated by a steady stream of self-congratulatory commercials touting the shiny new appliances inside.

What they left on the cutting room floor was the nearly ubiquitous epilogue of exhausted new homeowners selling off these inappropriate monstrosities shortly after the meager “living expenses” fund ran out. Because if you can’t afford to buy socks, you sure as shit ain’t gonna find a way to cover $5000 in property taxes.